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TWRA recognizes staff and wildlife officers for conservation and enforcement work
Summary
At the Buffalo Ridge commission meeting TWRA recognized forester Damon Hollis with the Joe Kurz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award and named Officer Montana Mickelson the 2024 Shikar Safari Club International Wildlife Officer of the Year for Tennessee.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on Thursday publicly honored two employees for conservation and enforcement work.
Damon Hollis, a TWRA forester, received the Joe Kurz Excellence in Wildlife Management Award from a National Wild Turkey Federation partnership. TWRA staff said Hollis secured a grant of more than $800,000 for timber-stand improvements, saved the agency about $500,000 through an innovative cottonwood sale and contributed field support to a statewide wild turkey banding study.
Montana Mickelson, a TWRA wildlife officer assigned to Sumner County (District 21), was recognized as the 2024 Shikar Safari Club International Wildlife Officer of the Year for Tennessee. Colonel Grindstaff and other TWRA leaders highlighted Mickelson’s enforcement and outreach record: TWRA presented figures that included 154 citations and warnings, 11 BUI (boating under the influence-related) arrests, multiple boating‑safety interactions, participation in youth education events reaching several hundred students, and leadership in multiagency incident response.
Why it matters: Agency recognition highlights staff contributions to habitat management, species restoration and law enforcement. The awards demonstrate partnerships with national conservation groups and underscore the agency’s investment in on-the-ground conservation and public-safety work.
Provenance - Damon Hollis recognition occurs in the awards segment introduced by Chief Benedict (presentation beginning ~00:15:32). Montana Mickelson’s recognition and background remarks are in the law-enforcement awards segment (~00:19:54 onward).
